CPI update: Top companies compete for a cause

The LIN Community Partnership Initiative (CPI) kickstarted on 27 June when participating teams got to know each other during the Meet and Greet Event. Representatives from 8 leading Advertising and Communications agencies and 3 teams of communications professionals were present, along with 11 NPOs supporting vulnerable children in HCMC.

The focus of this event was to introduce the teams to each other for the first time, to result in effective partnerships between companies and NPOs. To help raise awareness for vulnerable children in HCMC, CPI aims to match communication professionals with NPOs, and thus requires a match between companies and NPOs that is beneficiary and effective for both parties. LIN facilitated this matching process by identifying companies’ strengths and preferences and NPOs communications needs, and divided them into two groups.

The event started with a brief introduction by a representative from LIN, after which the teams met up and each company talked face-to-face with up to six NPO partners and vice-a-versa. 5 minute time slots were allocated for NPOs and companies to talk with one another, allowing them just enough time to form a first impression of who they may like to have as a partner.

NPOs and companies learned about each other at the Meet and Greet event.

After the speed networking, companies and NPOs had more time to talk to their favorite potential partners before ranking their choice, which LIN then used for matching the companies and NPOs appropriately and according to each teams’ wishes as much as possible.

Based on this, LIN announced the following teams who will be working together to create communication tools throughout a period of 6 weeks. The teams will be competing against each other for attractive communication prizes for the NPO and media publicity.

No

Company/Team of mentors

Non profit organization

1

BBDO

Social work group in Children Hospotal (Happier)

2

Day Break

Future Project

3

EBrand

Freen Future of Children (GFOC)

4

Green Hat

Thien An Shelter (MATA)

5

Green Scarf

Social work group A new day

6

Hand in Hand

Social Professional Integration (SPI)

7

FMC

5 am

8

KERMIT

Thien Tam Huong Vocational Center

9

Lowe Vietnam

Smile Group

10

Mind Caster

Nhan Ai Social work club

11

River Orchid

Cau Han project

Sajju Ambat from Lowe Vietnam appreciated the concept of CPI and called it a serious partnership between a company and a non profit organization. “I hope that with focus and determination from both parties, we could realize our project,” the Strategic Planner of Lowe, one of the top advertising agencies in Vietnam, said. Lowe Vietnam was matched with Smile Group, an NPO focusing on children affected with HIV/AIDS.

Thien An Shelter (MATA), an NPO participating in CPI, had high hope for their partnership with Green Hat, a Vietnamese marketing communication agency. “I believe that Green Hat will bridge the gap in MATA’s communication activities, which was due to our lack of staff and resources.”

Tuong Lai (Future) Project, another NPO who was matched with Daybreak Digital, already aimed for the first prize. “Being matched with a leading company in digital marketing is such a great start. We do hope that we will be the winner of this competition,” said Nguyen Quoc Chinh, a member of Tuong Lai project.

Representatives of MATA and Green Hat pose for a team photo after they were matched.

In the next six weeks of mentorship (from 1 July to 15 August), companies will mentor the NPOs on communication skills and create a communication tool to raise the awareness about challenges that vulnerable children are facing and how the NPOs are helping them to solve these problems. Alongside these mentorships, the NPOs will participate in workshops, led pro bono by eBrand and Brand Maker, to improve their communication skills. They will also visit HSBC and Ogilvy to learn about how companies incorporate communications into their CSR activities.